Mindful Bites: Insights For Enriching Your Meditation Practice

4.8

30-Tage-Kurs

Mindful Bites: Insights For Enriching Your Meditation Practice

Von Charles Freligh

Was du lernen wirst

In this 30-day course Charles invites us to enhance our meditation practice with bite-sized lessons (2-5 minutes in length) that can be listened to whenever and wherever you like. These lessons are for any level of experience and are meant to help you find and refine your own answers to what "meditation" really is, what it can provide in your life, and what your personal motivation is for practicing. The sessions are conversational in nature and Charles hopes you will utilize the comments section to engage with anything you find interesting, challenging, unclear, or even that you disagree with - all is welcome.

Charles Freligh

Minneapolis, MN, USA

Charles is a psychotherapist, psychology teacher, and generally an explorer of the experience of consciousness. He has experience leading in-person and online mindfulness and meditation courses for a variety of audiences including college students, military personnel, athletes, and the general community, as well as has published original research...

Lektion 1

The Finger & The Moon

Words and language complicate our direct experience and can get in the way of the underlying value of "meditation." In this lesson, consider words and language as like a finger that is pointing us to the direction of an experience that cannot be put into words.

Lektion 2

Empty Space & Mental Judo

Experiment with "empty space" and notice whatever habitual tendencies you may have developed to avoid it. Instead, this space can be used as your greatest ally.

Lektion 3

"Mindfulness" Is Pressing Play

Consider the meaning of "mindfulness" as it relates to listening to music. When is the only time you can actually listen to, experience, and enjoy music? It is not when you're pressing fast forward or rewind.

Lektion 4

Always Doing Something

Consider conscious experience as divided into two core modes: Doing and Being. Then, explore why it can be so hard to ever just experience Being.

Lektion 5

What Is "Meditation" Really?

Charles presents a basic description of the underlying principle behind meditation practice that may unify various types of practices and traditions.

Lektion 6

3 Common Forms Of Meditation

Charles uses the analogy of light (different types and qualities of light) to describe three core forms meditation practice: 1) Focused attention 2) Open monitoring 3) Loving kindness and compassion

Lektion 7

Focused Attention Meditation

Charles uses the metaphor of a glass of water to explain the process of Focused Attention Meditation.

Lektion 8

Mental Noting Technique

Charles explains a powerful technique that can help you notice your distractions during meditation. Simply notice clearly again and again. This practice can also be used in your everyday life.

Lektion 9

"The Second Arrow" Metaphor

In life, we experience a certain amount of inherent pain and suffering. In this lesson, Charles utilizes a metaphor to help us explore the pain and suffering we add in reaction to the first kind (the inherent pain), and presents the possibility of freeing yourself from the second kind.

Lektion 10

"Carrying The Log" Metaphor

Charles uses a metaphor he often uses in his psychotherapy work to describe the ways we may be holding on to ways of living that were once helpful but have become harmful, or that hold us back from living how we really want to live, here and now.

Lektion 11

Thinking Vs. Observing

Explore the possibility of experiencing the observing "witness" of everything - that experience that exists before words attempt to symbolize it.

Lektion 12

The Weather Of The Mind

Attempting to control our emotional experience is like attempting to control the weather. In this session, explore the possibility of finding shelter in different types of weather.

Lektion 13

The Thought Train

Charles presents a visual practice of noticing whenever you've stepped on a habitual "train" and then, developing the ability to step off before the doors close simply by noticing clearly.

Lektion 14

Identifying Your Anchor For Practice

Identify your own personal anchor that connects your meditative practice to experiences in daily life, especially those you struggle with.

Lektion 15

Notice 3 Things Exercise

Charles presents a grounding exercise that you can use anywhere. This can help you reset in the moment. By attending fully and spontaneously to your present sensory experience, you will have completely changed the momentum of whatever was occurring before your engaged in the exercise.

Lektion 16

The Mind As A Glass Of Water

Use this metaphor as a way of understanding the importance of letting go completely. If the mind is a glass of water, we may try to hold it still with force and attempt to “make” it be still. But there’s only one way for it to begin to settle on a deeper level…

Lektion 17

The ABC Model Of Emotion

Charles presents a way of deconstructing our experience of emotion. By exploring the nuances of your emotions, you may feel less controlled by them.

Lektion 18

The External Brain

Explore the value of having a clearly defined life organization system to act as your “external brain.” Without a clearly established and reliable external brain, meditation may become clouded by task lists, planning, and worrying.

Lektion 19

Happiness Vs. Contentment

What are we seeking in life? In this lesson, Charles explores the difference between happiness and contentment, and how the pursuit of happiness may set us up for inevitable frustration.

Lektion 20

The Inner Child

Charles explores how our experiences of discomfort and strong reactions in life may be related to the inner child still living inside us. They may continue to call out for something that was never given to them. Could you somehow provide it now?

Lektion 21

Open Monitoring Meditation

Charles describes a form of meditation referred to as "open monitoring", also sometimes referred to as mindfulness meditation. No good or bad, just noticing.

Lektion 22

The Continuum Of Awareness & Distraction

Daily life is made up of a series of many small decision points. In this lesson, explore the impact of these small decisions on the quality of your entire life, and the possibility to make less distracted and more clearly aware decisions and actions in the moment.

Lektion 23

Anxiety As A Guide To What's Meaningful

Charles presents a reframe of the experience of anxiety. Instead of it being something to avoid or attempt to eliminate, explore the use of this feeling as an energizing guide to what's important and meaningful to you in life.

Lektion 24

Loving Kindness & Compassion Meditation

Charles presents a form of meditation referred to as "Loving kindness" or compassion practice. Explore the possibility of connecting with genuine feelings of love and acceptance for yourself and others, including those you may dislike or even hate.

Lektion 25

Noticing Automatic Judgment

It's a great challenge to ever truly experience "what is new as new." In this lesson, explore the value of continuing to become aware of how we filter our present experience through the lens of the past. Simply by becoming aware of our own personal filter, we can wipe off the lens, be less burdened by our past, and be able to experience much more of what's happening only right here and now.

Lektion 26

Be Interested, Not Interesting

Charles presents a possible paradigm shift for social interactions that can both take pressure off of you (to have to impress others) and actually enhance your connection at the same time.

Lektion 27

Noticing Your Storylines

Life is mediated by language, and that language can lead to particular stories that we believe about ourselves. In this lesson, identify and notice your particular storylines more clearly and possibly see them as "stories," as a collection of words. In doing this, you may free yourself from the confines of these stories and engage more creatively with life as it happens.

Lektion 28

Action Tendency Vs. Habitual Action

You can become aware of an intention or urge to act in a particular way (an action tendency) and ultimately, choose not to act that way. In this lesson, Charles offers ways of playing with action tendencies to loosen you from habits you have been trying to break.

Lektion 29

Entering & Leaving Meditation

Charles explores the value of pre- and post-meditation rituals to vitalize your practice and enhance the connection between meditation and the rest of your life. Maybe, ultimately, it’s all the same – simply conscious flow of experience.

Lektion 30

Acceptance With No Condition

In order to be able to accept the present moment as it is, there is something in particular that fundamentally needs to be included in this acceptance. In this lesson, Charles explores what this key ingredient is and presents the possibility of being part of a counter-cultural "you are good enough as you are right now" movement.

Neueste Bewertungen

4.83

372

Lizzie

January 29, 2026

Such a beautiful useful course. Little bites of information to help me look at and practice my meditation. Different perspectives that really help me. Thank you Charles, again! ☺️

Judith

March 29, 2025

Hi Charles!!! This was excellent! I had this course open for a long time, taking sips like tea during sunrise. It was nutritious and enhanced my ability to be present. Thank you again.

Heather

March 16, 2025

Wonderful- got straight to the essence of each lesson in a way that immediately resonated with me - very helpful guidance- than you

Rob

October 2, 2024

Great insights on how to improve my meditation practice. Thank you.

Allie

April 17, 2024

Just as described. A great way to start the day. I used many of the bites as journal prompts as well.

Ron

January 6, 2024

Wonderful course! A lot of insightful tips to help improve your meditations. So helpful! 🙏💫

Janet

November 2, 2023

I enjoyed this course. It’s great to learn new things and be reminded about things I have forgotten. Thanks.

Mike

August 18, 2023

Loved these short but highly insightful bits of advice. Thank you!

Annie

August 17, 2023

Practical and helpful tips for getting the most out of a meditation and mindfulness practice. Would be extra helpful for beginners. Thank you, Charles, for being you! 🙏💛

Julie

July 13, 2023

I enjoyed this course! The short sessions were effective and encouraged me to make some small changes. Thank you.

Julie

June 19, 2023

Refreshing insight which i looked fwd to every day. Very helpful tips explained simply but with great impact.

Tina

March 7, 2023

So many opportunities to know myself better. Thank you this course was a great experience.

Gill

July 14, 2022

Excellent course in every way. Precious gems to improve my life presented with intelligence and grace.

Rita🌈

July 6, 2022

So many wonderful gems in this course! Thank you Charles!

Erin

October 6, 2021

Love the daily supply of encouragement for mindfulness. This course kept me going and improved upon my practice. Thank you!!

Dave

June 26, 2021

I have been listening to Eckhart Tolle’s books and retreats and these 30 days fall right in line with his talks too. I enjoyed the small bites of knowledge this series conveyed to me here on Insight Timer. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.

Marla

June 3, 2021

I really liked the bite size of each class. Lots of good information

Dan

April 3, 2021

Charles does an amazing job in this course presenting bite-size insightful and informative lesson plans in learning and understanding mindfulness and meditation techniques.

Amanda

March 29, 2021

Thank you Charles! This course was great for me in the morning, before using timer or a silent meditation. My favorite tidbits were the ninja chopping my thoughts away and the discussion on stopping thoughts and actions in the moment by connecting to a physical sensation. I enjoyed the course.